Saving the World Again
by Kyushu
Summary: 120 years in the future. Buffy as an immortal being, still fighting the good fight. An old love resurfaces, the world is in flux, just another day for the One Slayer! Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I am getting no monetary gain from using them so please don't sue me!!

**Saving the World…Again**

"Good. Good, Angela. That's right. You've made great improvement today. Keep working on that roundhouse. All right everyone! Nice work today. I'll see you all tomorrow."

A chorus of goodbyes met Buffy's ears as the numerous girls scrambled to get their training bags and rush out of the room.

Buffy turned from the door to clean up her training room. As she steadily worked to return all the equipment to its rightful place, her mind once again turned to him. Lately it seemed that whenever she was alone he plagued her thoughts. He had also begun to invade her dreams. Not that this was unusual. But the frequency was.

Once she had learned of his death from Fredrick, an extremely annoying and pompous councilman, she had annually created a memorial in his memory. It was small and she kept it secret in her room. Just a picture of him, some keepsakes, candles, and a ring she had once thought was lost forever. She received it in the mail many years ago, just after leaving Sunnydale. The package was anonymous, but she knew it was from him. No one else had ever given her a claddagh ring. And especially one engraved with the word, _Always_. She had worn it on a chain around her neck since that day.

If anyone ever found out her secret, she was sure the council would freak. They always wigged out a bit whenever the 'vampire with a soul' was mentioned. And that was quite often, what with all the prophecies he was in. It seemed every other one contained some slight mention of him. Him. Angel.

Buffy sighed. She always seemed to get lost in thought thinking about him. She grabbed her own bag and left the room, closing the door behind her. As she walked down the corridors, she determinedly kept her mind off Angel, smiled, and returned the greetings sent her way.

As she rose in the elevator to the top floor and the location of her flat, with no one to distract her, her thoughts turned to him again. She briefly wondered if there was any significance in the sudden increase in dreams. As she was a slayer, most of her dreams were prophetic. But this time they couldn't be prophetic, just dreams. Angel was dead. He died in a fight with an extremely large and gruesome demon almost 120 years ago.

It seemed strange, to think that she had outlived the 247 year old vampire. Well, actually he had been 259 when he died. She was 28. She had only been in London with the watchers council for a few weeks. After having only found out just a few days before, that she herself was immortal, it was almost too much to bear at the time. But Giles had helped her through it. He had been a wonderful father to her.

The elevator doors opened and Buffy realized that her mind had wandered again. She really needed to work on that. How was she supposed to teach her potentials to focus if she herself couldn't do the same?

She exited the elevator and walked to her door.

"Unlock. Password: Mr. Pointy."

She entered and tossed her things onto the floor. Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a frozen dinner out of the freezer and tossed it into the microwave. Her life seemed so pathetic whenever she ate these things. But it was better than eating in the cafeteria with all the potentials clamoring to sit near her, or with the watchers, younger than her, yet still somewhat seeing her as the young woman that needed their guidance. Included and yet separate from both.

All her friends had passed away years ago. Dawn had gotten married to a great guy, but they never had any kids. Once she had died, all her family was gone. She really had no one left. Well, almost no one. She had one friend. There was a junior watcher named Cassie that she had become pretty good friends with. She was no Willow, but she was still great. They worked together and had lunch together when possible.

After finishing her dinner, Buffy showered and climbed into bed. As she got under the covers, she realized she was looking forward to the coming dreams. It had been so long since she had seen him. But she still remembered every detail about him. As the nights dreams soon confirmed.

* * *

"Are you sure that you have translated the text correctly?"

"Of course. We should take this to the council immediately. They will be quite interested I'm sure."

"Yes, quite."


	2. Chapter 2

The next few weeks passed in a blur for Buffy. Between the training classes she conducted during the days and the nights she was out on patrol, she lost track of time and before she knew it, her birthday was only a few days away. She would be turning 148 this year. It was strange. When she looked in the mirror, she still looked like she was 28. Her hair was longer, but other than that she was the same Buffy she had been when she closed the hellmouth in Sunnydale. One of the last times she had seen him.

Him again! She was beginning to wonder if there really was something more to these dreams. But she wasn't about to talk to any of the watchers about it. If his name was even whispered around here the council seemed to know within a moments time. She couldn't even talk to Cassie about him. The one time the junior watcher had hesitantly asked about him, Buffy had only replied that all she needed to know, she could learn in Giles' diaries.

'Great Buffy. You're obsessed with your long dead ex-boyfriend and now you're talking to yourself. Just great.'

She turned as the next class began to enter the room. She determinedly put Angel out of her mind and brought the class to order.

* * *

The council was convened in the conference room, discussing the recently translated prophecy. Tension was thick in the room as different courses of action were proposed.

"I think that Buffy has beaten enough prophecies on her own. There is no need to bring that monster here and have him stirring things up. Besides that, she has the help of all the slayers in training."

A balding 50ish man spoke up, "I agree. Them being together can only cause grievous problems."

"This is silly! The curse still stands and they know this. Furthermore, it has been 120 years. If they still loved each other, they would have been together far before this. Their childish love could not have lasted this many years," a sour faced woman uttered.

"If I may interrupt, Agnes," Walker, a handsome, well-kept man in his late 40's stood up and all eyes turned to him. "Buffy does not realize that Angelus is still alive. Wait please. Let me explain. Most of you believe that we are restricted from mentioning the name of Angelus because he is a vampire with an unsavory past with Buffy. This is not entirely true. My grandfather, Frederick, and his council members had come to the conclusion that, for the good of all concerned, Buffy must believe that Angelus had perished. So, she was told that he died in a battle. That was almost 120 years ago and Buffy still knows no better. I think she is over the pain of her mistakes with him, and can act professionally. After all, we trust her with the the training of the other slayers, and she did help restore the council and its watchers after our destruction years ago. Maybe we can keep them apart for the time being. But just in case we can't, they should never be left unsupervised. She is still reckless and he is and always will be a vampire, and that means he cannot be trusted. In conclusion, this will be an extremely trying time, but I believe that we must obey the prophecy and send for Angelus." Walker finished and sat down again.

"What if he won't come?" Agnes asked. "His dealings with us have not been satisfactory, I'm sure. Nor have ours with him."

"He will come," Walker replied, "when he is told that the world depends on him. It is his mission to avert the apocalypse and attain his elusive redemption. Also, the vampire does not know of Buffy's immortality. He believes that she too died many years ago after living a normal life. Another reason why we should try to keep them apart."

Murmurs of approval and heads being nodded all around the table showed their mutual assent. Another council member spoke up, "Send for the vampire then. We must take immediate action."

* * *

'L.A. sure seems lonely lately,' Angel thought. 'That's not surprising since all my friends and family are long gone. Immortality sure has its drawbacks.'

Angel suddenly stilled. He sensed someone approaching. He quickly merged with the shadows and waited for the person following him to appear. He sensed that there were more than one and quietly unsheathed his broadsword. When they came into view, he immediately noticed the suits and the very distinctive smell of fear. 'Suits and they are afraid of me,' he smirked to himself, 'they gotta be watchers.'

He spoke from the shadows, mocking them, "You boys look a little lost."

The three men whirled toward the sound and one cried, "Vampire! We are trained in self defense and will slay you if we must!"

Angel let out a bark of laughter at that statement. "The council hasn't sent assassins after me in years, but last time they at least came armed," he drawled.

"Angelus? We are sent to summon you to England to appear before the council immediately. There is a dire situation that must be attended to promptly."

"Since when does the council want anything from me but to kill me?" he retorted with a growl.

Angel stepped out of the shadows and let them see his sword. He could literally taste their fear it became so thick when they saw the blade. "What does this have to do with me?"

"There is a prophecy. Maybe the apocalypse. We believe that it concerns you. The fate of the world may very well depend on your coming with us," one of the others spoke up.

"Well, when you put it that way, let's go! We better get there promptly or there will be trouble!" he replied the sarcasm practically dripping out of his mouth. "And by the way, its Angel, not Angelus. He hasn't been around for a very long time."

"Yes sir, A-Angel sir. Will you be returning with us then?"

"I want a little more information about this prophecy slash impending apocalypse before I agree. And by the way, how do you plan to guard me against the sunlight? I'm not gonna stay in a trunk the whole way there."

"Yes sir. We have made special accommodations for your, um, unusual circumstances. Shall we be off then?"

Angel gestured them in front of him to lead. 'This had better be good,' he thought slipping his sword into the scabbard strapped to his back and adjusting his black, wool duster over it. 'Oh well, I could use a change of pace. And even if they attack me, I still get some good fighting in.' A crooked smile graced his lips. The three watchers swallowed convulsively, turned, and quickened their steps. His smile deepened and his deep chocolate eyes twinkled mischievously. 'Oh yeah. Still got the vamp intimidation thing down.'


	3. Chapter 3

"Buffy, I don't know how you keep up your stamina when all you eat is salads all the time. I mean, come on, don't you ever just want something with calories and fat and stuff?"

Buffy's laughter sounded through the cafeteria. "Sure I do Cassie. But I have to be an example to my students." Buffy lowered her voice and leaned toward her friend, "And I keep plenty of chocolate and ice cream stocked in my fridge upstairs."

They both laughed. "Yes, I'm sure you do Buffy. Have you heard the rumors? I guess there is supposed to be some special visitor arriving tomorrow. The council is adding special security and everything. The rumor is he's some sort of warrior. Whether a champion for the good or not, no one seems to know."

"I haven't heard anything. But then you know that I am kept out of the loop as much as possible by the council. They only inform me when they need some big bad slain, or an apocalypse averted," Buffy replied.

"Well whoever it is, I want to know. I am going to be doing some research in the room across from the council's court," retorted Cassie with her eyebrows dancing. "I plan on knowing just who enters the court before all the other junior watchers. And as soon as I know, I'll be sure to pass the information to you Buffy."

"Thanks Cassie. But I could care less and it'll probably turn out that this warrior is some guy in a suit that has been locked away in a cavern with some boring ancient text for 20 years. Ooh, very exciting! Unless he really is a baddie. Then I'll just introduce him to Mr. Pointy," she said with a giggle.

"Oh, Buffy! You're incorrigible!" The two friends laughed and continued their lunches.

* * *

The next day while getting ready for her late afternoon class, Buffy could not shake this feeling that she was having. It was this warning twinge that she got in her stomach when a vampire was near. But this was different. There was something familiar about it. Almost like when she had felt like, well when she felt like _he_ was near. But that couldn't be. He was gone forever. 'Great,' she thought. 'Now the dreams are going to start coming in the day. Just wonderful.' Buffy pushed the feeling aside and went back to preparing for the next class.

* * *

Angel entered the council building through the sewer access. He took in his surroundings with a quick glance and followed the three men who had brought him here. Then he felt it. That little tingle. The feeling he had gotten whenever _she_ was near. 'Impossible,' he thought sadly, 'Buffy died long ago.'

* * *

Cassie sat across from the corridor watching the doors straight across the hall. She was quietly turning through the pages of a book, pretending to be reading it. She was determined to see who would be entering into the council's chambers. She heard the large wooden doors at the far end of the corridor swing open, then slowly creak closed. The faint sound of footsteps coming her direction filtered down the corridor.

She discretely peeked over the top of her ancient book and saw a group of councilmen and security leading a man into the room. 'He's very handsome,' she thought to herself. Tall, dark, and mysterious. He wore his hair like they used to in the 21st century. Sort of spiked with a carefully obtained look of dishevelment. He glanced through the doorway toward her. He had piercing, chocolate eyes that flashed with amber and seemed to look right into the heart of her. He was like a hunter assessing his quarry. His look eased as he dismissed her as a threat and turned his eyes to the council chambers. She counted herself lucky that he didn't seem to consider her dangerous. She felt very intimidated just by that one glance. He swept into the room with a swirl of his long, black duster and the doors closed behind him and the security detail following.

Once her heart slowed down and she regained her faculties, the man seemed familiar to Cassie somehow. Since he was a warrior, she wondered if she had read about him somewhere. She definitely recalled seeing a picture of him now she thought about it. Just where she had was the question. She couldn't remember his name or if he was a champion. Wait, he lived in Los Angeles, his position for the powers was currently in good standing, but texts had hinted at something more. Some sort of darkness lay in his past. She still couldn't remember where she had read all this. It must have been in a watcher's diary, of that she was pretty sure. The information in her head was too complete to be otherwise.

She hurriedly put away the volume she had been pretending to read and moved toward the section of watcher's diaries. She was going to figure out who this mysterious man was and what he was doing here. For once, she wanted to be the first to know.

Cassie was becoming frustrated with her lack of finding any information. She was into diaries too old to contain any information on the mysterious man. He looked to be in his late 20's and these diaries dated back over a hundred years. Much too old to contain any information on him. On a whim, she chose one more diary off the shelf and returned to her chair. As she was setting the book on the table, a piece of paper slipped out and drifted to the floor. Upon picking it up, Cassie realized that it was a drawing. She turned it over and her eyes widened in shock. The drawing showed a couple gazing deep into one another's eyes. They looked to be very much in love. It was the man she was looking for, but what shocked her was the woman with him. It was Buffy.

* * *

Buffy was in the middle of teaching one of her favorite defensive moves, when the door to her training room flew open. "What the?!" Buffy began angrily until she saw it was a very frazzled and shocked looking Cassie. "Cassie, what's the matter with you? I'm in the middle of class."

"Buffy! You have to come now! You have to see!" Cassie gasped.

"What? Who?" But before Buffy could ask any more questions the junior watcher grabbed her and pulled her out the door leaving a stunned class in her wake.

In the elevator on the way down, Buffy tried to get answers from Cassie, but all she would say was 'in the council chambers.' She didn't know quite what to make of it except thats where they were going and where this someone was. As the doors opened to their floor and they stepped out, Cassie turned to Buffy.

"He's here."

"Who Cassie?" Buffy asked gently, leaning toward her.

"Angelus, I mean Angel," she softly replied.

Buffy reeled back in shock. The color drained from her face and tears quickly sprang to the corners of her eyes.

"It can't be. He's gone," she murmured almost to herself.

"It is. I saw him," Cassie replied, but before she had finished Buffy had taken off down the corridor running at full slayer speed.

* * *

"We cannot fulfill this prophecy. It clearly means you. We need your cooperation, and we hope your discretion," Walker finished.

"But who is the other mentioned in the prophecy?" Angel asked. "You said it might mention someone else, but you won't tell me who. Until you tell me who it is, or who you think it is, my answer is no."

"We are not permitted to reveal this person to you at this time, for the sake of all involved. But if you persist in knowing, then we shall have to find an alternative means without your help."

"Great then. I'm going back to L.A." Angel said and turned to leave. Before he could reach the door, it busted off its hinges and pieces of splintered wood flew into the room. Angel ducked and spun to miss the debris flying toward him, drawing his broadsword in one swift move. Ready for battle, Angel returned his vision to the scene in front of him. What he saw took his breath away. Buffy was framed in the broken doorway.

"Buffy?" he whispered as only he could ever say it. It couldn't be her. But it was. That familiar tingle he always had when she was around was there, manifesting it truly was her in the pit of his stomach. His prized and beloved broadsword clanged to the floor.

"Angel!" she replied with a half strangled cry. And then they were crushed in each other's embrace. Neither realizing that they had both scrambled over obstacles to reach each other. All they felt was each others arms around them. His cool cheek pressed against her warm one. Her feet swinging off the ground with his strong arms supporting and lifting her. The loving mantra coming from his mouth, repeating her name as though he believed that if he stopped saying it, she would disappear.


End file.
